The General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) based in the nurseries at Stanford University and known traditionally, because of its historical roots, as the Premature Research Center (PRC), was established in 1963, and has contributed to a legacy of important changes, not only in how other centers of clinical investigation affiliated with nurseries are administered, but also in important scientific accomplishments which have improved the way in which premature infants, critically ill infants of all gestational ages, and normal infants are cared for in nursery facilities across the country. A major goal of the Center is the translation of basic science to clinical utility through clinical investigation. The PRC uses all the physical resources of the nurseries at Stanford, and incorporates activities of faculty and staff throughout the Medical School, from various backgrounds, disciplines and interests. The PRC staff help to coordinate the interactions and collaborations of clinical investigators, taking full advantage of a broad extramural funding base represented by the individual investigators and other research resources at the institution. The investigations are designed to elicit information about the physiological and pathophysiological adaptations of prematurely born infants, and protocols often interdigitate with others, so that a great deal of information can be obtained from a single infant who is being evaluated in the Center. The PRC Advisory Committee carefully reviews the utilization of human subjects who may be participants in multiple protocols. The Core Laboratory provides not only general supplies for use by investigators in the Center, but also special resources for the fabrication of new equipment, modification of commercially available equipment, the development of new biochemical assays, and consultation on experimental design and methodology. The Core Laboratory serves further as a link to other facilities providing shared genetic and molecular technologies at the institution. A biostatistician is available to review all PRC investigations in the design, implementation, and analysis phases. The areas of clinical investigation include many large projects, such as neonatal bilirubin metabolism; growth factor biology; modulation of circadian rhythmicity in preterm infants; treatment of perinatal infectious diseases like neonatal herpes simplex infections and AIDS; treatment of newborn skin; and heart, heart-lung, and lung transplantation in neonates and young infants. In addition to the inpatient investigative program, the outpatient program is a very important and integral part of the PRC. Investigators depend upon the inclusion of all very low birth weight infants <1,500 gm and other selected groups of infants for long-term evaluations of growth and development. Also, the PRC is a major educational resource at Stanford, exposing large numbers of medical students, house officers, pre-and postdoctoral fellows, and a variety of paramedical personnel to the methods of clinical investigation. Outreach educational programs keep the professional communities in the regions around Stanford fully informed about the newest advances in newborn care.